Greenville County's Unemployment Rose in June

Greenvile County's unemployment rose in June to 8.2 percent, the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce announced Friday.

The rate was up from 7.6 percent in May. In June 2011, the county's rate was 8.9, DEW reported.

Despite the increase, there is a silver lining. The county's rate is the second-lowest in the state behind Lexington County which had the lowest rate at 7.7 percent. Marion County had the state's highest unemployment, and astronomical 18 percent.

The statewide rate also increased in June, the second month in a row it has risen, to 9.4 percent.

"While South Carolina’s unemployment rate edged up from May to June, much progress has been made since last year as there were more than 22,000 jobs added," said Abraham J. Turner, executive director of the SC Department of Employment and Workforce, putting a positive spin on the negative news

"Businesses continue to choose our great state as a place to locate or expand, and DEW is committed to working with employers to meet their workforce needs," Turner said in a release.

The state and county's true unemployment rate is more murky and likely quite a bit higher, since DEW's calculations do not take into account those long-term unemployed who have given up looking for work.

The climb in the statewide rate was fueled by an increasing number of unemployed people (up 6,618 in June to 202,918) and a decrease in people who were employed (down 9,391 to 1,947,936). The decline in employment can be attributed to a fall in full-time jobs with schools out for the summer. The overall labor force moved downward slightly by 2,773 people to 2,150,854. 

Overall non-farm payroll jobs (not seasonally adjusted) increased by 1,800 from May to June 2012, with a strong seasonal rise in Leisure and Hospitality (+3,700). Three sectors (Manufacturing; Trade, Transportation, and Utilities; and Professional and Business Services) had gains of 1,500 each. Construction also posted a healthy increase (+1,000).

A large summer drop in state and local education gave Government employment a decline of 4,900 from May to June 2012, along with a smaller decrease in Education and Health Services (-1,500).

In the last year, total non-farm employment saw an overall increase of 22,800 jobs. The strong Manufacturing sector grew 7,400 from June 2011 to June 2012, and Professional and Business Services also reported a large gain over the year (+7,200), with the Employment Services subsector adding 6,700 of that increase. 

In addition, large over-the-year gains were posted in Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (+5,800) and Education and Health Services (+3,400), mostly in Healthcare and Social Assistance. In the last year, both Construction and Financial Activities employment has dropped 1,200.